Coffee Shop
by Fantasyprone
Summary: After the war Hermione finds a magical coffee shop and soon falls in love with it's relaxing charm but will she also fall for the dark professor she finds within.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione sat on her cushioned windowsill, looking out of her small but cosy apartment flat at the River Thames at all the bustling muggles.

Leaning her head against the cool window she watched the muggles in their work clothes rushing to their destinations, phone or coffee in hand, looking like hundreds of tiny ants from her position.

Although she had now been living here for a week she still wasn't quite use to living alone yet.

After the war she'd returned to Hogwarts, where she'd been constantly surrounded by other students. Then once graduated she'd moved into the Burrow with Ron but when their relationship broke down six months later, it quickly become obvious it would be best for her to leave, despite Molly's protests.

Next she'd moved in with Harry and Ginny but that had always been a temporary solution, as much as she loved them she soon craved her own space away from the young lovers.

So she'd done her research, going to multiple house viewings in wizarding areas, such as Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade but in the end had been recommended to a witch landlady whom owned property in the muggle world.

Part of her still wanted to stay connected to her muggle roots and she'd quickly accepted her little apartment on the Victoria Embankment. Which was conveniently only a short walk from Whitehall, where the Ministry of Magic was based and where she worked at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, in an attempt to improve the treatment of house elves.

It was really rather lucky she had found this place. There was no way that she'd be able to afford a location like this if she was a muggle her age. The substantial reward she'd received for her efforts during the war were currently paying for this whilst she saved her wage. Plus she had a sneaky suspicion the landlady had given her a discounted price.

Standing up she walked over to Crookshanks, who had already claimed a regular sleeping spot on the fluffy rug in front of the fire.

He purred lightly as she stroked his fur, "I'm just going to pop out, I'll be back in a bit Crooks".

Her magical wards clicked into place as she closed her apartment door and made her way down the multiple flights of stairs and into the busy streets below.

Over the past few days she'd found herself exploring the local area, wandering around St. Jame's park, past the muggle houses of parliament and along the embankment.

Along her journey she'd found several good muggle books shops and a patisserie that sold some of the most delightful fresh handmade pastries she'd ever encountered.

But this afternoon she had a destination, Madame Mallory's Café, which was hidden behind what appeared to be a run down muggle bookshop.

Pushing open the front door, with its peeling white paint, muggle books immediately piled high around her on all sides as she entered the cramped space.

This would usually have been heaven for her but she made herself drag her eyes away from scanning the titles around her and squeezed her way deeper into the shop.

An old man with a face lined with smile wrinkles looked up from the book he held as she approached, "can I help you young lady?".

"Um, I was wondering if you had any books about pixie dust?" she felt her cheeks warm slightly as she recited the code Francis at the office had told her to say. She still wasn't sure if he had been pulling her leg.

"Ahhh, a new client, it's a pleasure to meet you, right this way young lady", hopping off his stool he made his way with surprising speed to the back of the shop.

Quickly following, whilst trying not to knock any books over, Hermione caught up with him as he faced a bookshelf shielded from view from the rest of the shop but multiple piles of books.

"In future just come straight to the back and tap here, here, here, here and here" he demonstrated tapping five random books on the shelf.

The books started to shift before her eyes, separating to form an open arch into the room beyond, rather like the bricks leading into Diagon Alley.

"Thank you" she smiled warmly down at the old man.

"No problem Lass, now get a move on before the books close again, if you have any questions ask one of the staff inside".

Walking through the book archway Hermione stepped out into Madame Mallory's café, the rich smell of coffee filling her nose.

The twisting room was glowing in the soft light of floating candles; the walls were made of bookshelves these ones full of magical books.

Booths were formed inside the bookshelves and various tables were dotted around with large cushioned armchairs and sofas surrounding them.

Various wizards and witches lounged around, either talking quietly or reading whilst they drunk their beverages, she even noticed a few dwarfs.

"Hi Hermione" greeted a smiling waitress, Hermione still found it odd when strangers would greet her by her name.

"Hi…"

"Valerie, I'm a barista here. It's a pleasure to have you at our café! Just pick any seat you like and tap the item you want on the menu and it'll be sent over to your table" she beamed.

Smiling softly and thanking Valerie she made her way further into the café, turning a corner and walking along a darker passageway with several booths until she stepped out into a quieter room.

Spotting a rather comfortable looking red armchair in the corner she walked over and set her bag down.

Her whole body felt like it was sinking into a cloud as she sat down, picking up the menu she flicked through the various options but inevitably settled on her regular tea with sugar.

Tapping her wand on the tea option she set the menu back down on the little mahogany table in front of her.

Her eyes immediately drifted to the books around her and she found herself browsing the many titles as she waited, running he fingers along the old spines.

She eventually settled on a rather ancient looking copy of 'Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes' by .

Moving back to her seat she noticed several floating candles following her, providing a soft light for her to read by.

A light tinkling alerted her to the arrival of her tea, which floated across the room towards her and set itself neatly down on the table in front of her.

She poured herself a cup before adding one tablespoon of sugar to satisfy her sweet craving, she gave it five clockwise stirs before taking a sip.

Sighing as the liquid warmed a path down to her stomach she relaxed back into her chair, she could already tell that this was a place she was going to be visiting often.

A couple of hours and teas later Hermione had thoroughly made herself at home, slipping off her pumps and curling her legs up besides her on the armchair, making sure her black knit dress was smoothed over her knees.

Setting the book down on the arm of the chair she stretched, relieving the tension in her body from where she had been in the same position for so long.

For the first time since sitting down she let her eyes scan the small room, she had become so engrossed in her book that she hadn't paid much attention to whom had come and gone.

Random stacks of books obscured several people but she could see a wizard in bright purple robes lounging on one of the sofas. As well as a couple snuggled up in a booth, the man had his arm wrapped around the woman whose head was resting on his chest as they both peered down at the book she was reading.

However her heart skipped a beat as her eyes settled on a familiar figure.

Sitting across the room from her, in an armchair similar to hers but with darker upholstery, sat Professor Snape.

However, he wasn't a professor anymore but an advisor for the investigative department at the ministry and independent potions researcher.

She had distantly seen his tall dark silhouette whipping around the corridors of the ministry and read several of his fascinating research publications but since the end of the war had little direct interaction with him.

She noted that his hair still appeared greasy but instead of hanging in front of his face it was tied back, showing off how his face was no longer shallow and he appeared to have put on weight, making him look a lot healthier.

He still wore dark robes but they were unbuttoned at the front and she could see a white shirt underneath, a dark green caveat was tied around his neck, no doubt to hide the scar Nagini left him, adding an unusual splash of colour to his look.

Although he still emanated a powerful presence, seeing him so relaxed took away some of the intimidating effect he had over her previously. Instead she found herself becoming intrigued by this new relaxed Snape, watching his long fingers turning the pages of the book he held and sipping his coffee.

Blushing slightly as she realised she was staring she looked away.

Being the former spy that he was he almost certainly knew she was in the room but he hadn't greeted her and she debated whether to go over and say hello.

Deciding that he obviously wanted to be left in peace and determined not to be the nagging student he remembered her as from school. She set the money for the tea she had ordered on the table, which promptly vanished, placed her book back on the bookshelf and made her way out, determinedly not looking in Snape's direction.

Over the next few weeks Hermione happily settled into the routine of attending Madame Mallory's café most days after work and in the evenings on her days off.

The comfy red armchair became her unofficial spot and nine times out of ten when she arrived Snape would be sat across the room from her in his armchair.

On the few occasions he had arrived late and found someone else in his chair, she had watched in amusement from under her lashes as he loomed over whichever poor soul had the misfortune of choosing his chair. They had all quickly made their departure without much fuss.

Both of them appeared to settle into an unofficial truce of pretending the other person didn't exist. She worried that if she gave into her burning curiosity to talk to him, that it would break the comfortable peace and sanctuary from the outside world they both had in this place.

However, their silence was broken one day when she rounded the muggle side of the bookstore to find Snape tapping on the books to open the passageway.

Pausing in the rather small space behind him she waited for him to proceed through as the books parted, instead he turned around towards her.

"Miss Granger" he gestured ahead of him for her to go first.

Blinking in surprise, she quickly tired to move past the professor so as not to keep him waiting, accidently brushing against him as she made her way forward.

Her cheeks felt slightly warm as she thanked him on the other side, feeling flustered about their unexpected change in routine.

He did not respond but simply started walking towards their usual destination, Hermione walking along slightly behind him.

"I'd recommend Honey", he said as they were walking, turning round the corner.

"Pardon?" she asked, slightly confused.

"With your tea" he looked back over his shoulder at her and with no further explanation walked over to his chair.

Hermione sat down, surprised that he had paid enough attention to her to know what she ordered.

Picking up her menu she hesitated before tapping on the tea with honey option.

She settled down with her choice of book for the day and several minutes passed before her tea floated over to her.

Picking up a teaspoon of honey she stirred it into her tea until it dissolved and hesitantly took a sip.

She hummed quietly in contentment as the thicker and far sweeter tea warmed her throat, her sweet tooth rejoicing, definitely better than sugar.

Looking over at Snape she saw him watching her, she smiled at him, non-verbally thanking him for his recommendation and he gave a sharp nod before turning back to his book.

From that day forward she ordered her tea with honey.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione's small heels rapidly clicked on the stone corridors of the ministry as she made her way towards the elevators.

She had just come from a particularly frustrating meeting with the head of the Goblin's trade union.

Other the past few years she had fought hard to bring in legislation to improve various magical creatures rights in the wizarding world. This included the working rights of Goblins and House-elves.

To her joy she had been approached by a house-elf called Tiff, who wished to become an assistant secretary at Gringotts Bank. He was one of the first house elves who had shown an interest in working outside of the usual cleaning jobs for wizarding families and institutions.

The issue was that the Goblins considered themselves intellectually superior to the House-elves and had only ever known them as cleaners for the bank, which was where they wanted them to stay.

Sighing Hermione paused in front of the elevator doors, twisting her boisterous curls, that had become even more unruly during her argument with the Goblins, up into a loose bun.

The irony was that it was her legislation that was enabling the Goblins to threaten strike action in protest of House-elves being offered job positions in Gringotts Bank. It frustrated her to no end that they were not willing to assist each other in their progress.

Squishing into the packed elevator she placed her feet square apart to balance herself as the elevator shot off to its next destination.

As the doors opened again she was surprised to see Snape step in and stand besides her. Although his presence at the café had become a given to her she rarely saw him at work.

Amused she noticed the unusually large amount of people who exited over the next couple of stops and couldn't help but smile when she saw someone physically balk and not enter the elevator after seeing Snape.

It appeared he was just as capable of intimidating grown ministry workers as the students of Hogwarts, although she suspected that many people still remembered him from their childhoods.

"Interesting choice of robes, Miss Granger."

Subconsciously smoothing down her tight dark green robes she glanced sideways at the Professor, who was still looking ahead, " We are old enough to not be restricted to our house colours anymore, Sir".

"It suits you far more than garish red".

She blinked; did he just compliment her or insult her house colours?

The doors opened to her floor and she walked out, surprised to find him following her.

Again she found herself glancing sideways at him curiously, "I haven't seen you at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures before?"

He paused, appearing to contemplate whether to tell her, "I have a meeting with Mr. Wandsworth".

She snorted at the disdain in his voice as the image of the bubbly vibrant wizard came to mind, "I'm sure you two get along like a house on fire".

"Was that sarcasm? You're full of surprises today Miss Granger" he drawled.

She didn't know how to take this new Snape. She very rarely ever saw him talking to anyone at the ministry and here he was initiating conversation with her.

"If you're not out within 30 minutes I can always interrupt to save you from his chatter"

"I can assure you I am not the one who will need saving" he sneered and after a beat "from what I hear the Goblins needed saving from you earlier".

Ah, was that why Snape was trying to talk to her, gossip spread like wildfire around the ministry and with the loud dramatic exit the Goblins had made she wasn't surprised it had spread even faster.

"They're proving rather… difficult… to negotiate with" she ground out.

She expected him to quiz her further but instead he merely made an acknowledging noise under his breath and continued to walk on in silence.

As they reached Mr. Wandsworth's door she risked sending Snape a small smile, "I'll see you later, Sir".

Pausing he looked at her, "Instead of seeing false good in them and appealing to their morals, you should appeal to the Goblins truer nature" and with a sharp knock on the door he disappeared into the office.

Frowning she made her way further down the corridor and into her office. Slumping on her desk chair, it took her only a few minutes to realise what he meant.

Greed.

If there was one thing the Goblins were known for it was their greed.

Dipping her quill in her inkpot she quickly started writing letters to various staff, determined to find out if there was anything in particular the Goblins wanted.

If she couldn't get them to agree to her terms through reason then maybe she could coerce and make a trade with them to accept the House-elf.

….

A week had passed since she last talked to Severus in the elevator and in that time she had managed to identify a gold Goblin heirloom and make all the negotiations to make sure it got into their hands in exchange for Tiff getting his job.

It was a breakthrough. Two more house-elves had contacted her about work in the bank. This may not seem a lot but considering the ingrained mentally of the house-elves it had left her over joyed.

For the last few days she had seen Snape in his usual chair and felt the burning desire to go over and thank him but found herself holding back, unwilling to break the unofficial agreement they had of not disturbing the others peace.

As much as she wanted to thank him she doubted he would appreciate her interruption.

Therefore, when she saw his dark figure walking ahead of her, as she turned onto the road of their café, she found herself jogging down the street to catch up.

She had nearly caught up to him when he reached the bookshop door, which he paused at, waiting, pulling the door open and gesturing for her to go through first as she reached him.

Had the git known she was jogging to catch up with him the whole time and not paused to wait for her earlier.

"Thanks Professor" she breathed, slightly out of breath and happy to feel the cool air of the bookshop as she walked inside.

"I'm intrigued, I never thought I'd see the day when Miss Granger was chasing after me".

Spluttering at the connotation, she looked to see his lips almost forming a teasing smile.

She shot him a playful glare, "from what I've read in the Daily Prophet, I would have thought women running after you is a daily occurrence".

Since the end of the war several gossip magazines and newspapers had thrived off of Snape's 'tragic love story' and frequently written articles about the 'tall, dark, secretive, hero'. Rita Skeeter in particular enjoyed regularly bringing the professor up, last month naming him as the number one most eligible wizarding bachelor.

"I wouldn't have taken you as someone who would read such tripe, Miss Granger"

She shrugged as they moved into the café, "It's important to keep an eye on public opinion with the new legislations".

"Talking of such I've been meaning to find you these last few days and thank you for your help with the Goblins"

He raised his eyebrow slightly "I have been in my usual seat these last few days but it is no problem, most people are easy to negotiate with once you know what they want."

She felt herself blush slightly. Great, now she looked no better than a student too scared to approach him at his desk.

Pausing as they reached their section of the café she hesitated, wondering whether to invite him to sit with her but he cut off her dilemma by wishing her a good evening and moving towards his seat.

Curling up in her seat she found her eyes being repeatedly drawn to the Professor in the corner and this slowly became a habit over the next couple of days.

Whereas before he had been a shadow in the corner, it now felt like someone was shining a spotlight on him that her eyes couldn't help being drawn to.

She found herself noticing his habits; such as when he first arrived he would order an espresso shot and half an hour later a black coffee. How he was always relaxed, one leg resting atop the other and that when he was deep in thought reading he would sometimes run his finger across his top lip.

She was all too aware that with his former spy training he probably knew that she was looking at him but the more she told herself not to look the more she found herself doing so.

On one of these occasions when she found herself staring she noticed him reading the latest journal on 'Magical and Mundane Plants and Their Uses', something she herself was prescribed to. When she glanced up from the cover of the book she saw him staring back at her.

Fighting the urge to look straight away she smiled at him before awkwardly turning away back to her food. Uncomfortably aware of the heat spreading up her neck and cheeks and she prayed he wasn't still looking at her to be able to notice.

She didn't quite understand or perhaps didn't really want to examine why she was now hyper aware of his presence but refused to act like a blushing shy student.

Finishing her tea she stood up and made her way towards him, determined to explain her staring or was it just an excuse to talk to him?

Stopping in front of his chair she cleared her throat "How are you finding the latest edition Professor?"

As he glanced up from his book she realised that she had never been in a position of standing over him before. Yet even with him sitting down she did not remotely feel in a position of power.

"It's for a project of mine, I'm looking to use Mimbulus Mimbletonia in a new potion I'm working on but the literature is rather limited".

"I read a book a few months ago that included some research on the Mimbulus, if you want I could bring it in for you"

He frowned, "what do you want Miss Granger?"

She blinked in surprised, "nothing, I just thought it might help", trust his Slytherin nature to assume she would never give without expecting to receive.

"Then it would be appreciated"

Shifting slightly on her feet she noticed that he had not invited her to sit in the chair opposite him, "well, I hope you have a good evening Sir".

Turning she swiftly walked away.

The next day when she entered Snape had yet to arrive. Walking over to his chair she placed the book on his coffee table and settled herself down in her own spot.

When he arrived later she watched as he walked over and picked up the book, glancing over at her and nodding in thanks.

The day after she noticed he was already substantially through the thick book, it had obviously proven worth his while.

The day after that she was shocked when he stood up and walked over to where she sat.

It was her turn to sit staring up at him, "Thank you for the book" he set it back down on the table in front of her.

He paused only for a moment before sitting down in the seat opposite her, "It held an interesting theory on the some of the alternative uses for it's stinksap"

Smiling at the conversation starter she set her own book down, "yes, it does contradict the current theory but I would be interested to see if someone could successfully carry out some of their theories…"

That was the first of many long coffee shop conversations they were to have.

…..

Several days later she watched in amusement as Snape arrived to find someone sitting in his seat. Sitting back she waited for the inevitable show of him intimidating the poor soul out of his spot.

However, to her shock, he paused, noticing the strangers presence but instead of chasing him away he turned and made his way towards her, despite there being several other free seats.

"Do you mind if I sit here"

She shook her head; staring at him with a look that she was sure resembled a gaping fish.

"Close your mouth Granger or you might catch some flies" he settled himself effortlessly into the seat opposite her "I think this is the quietest I've ever seen you".

Quickly composing herself she rolled her eyes, "I'm just not use to you being social Snape".

"I have my moments" and with that he tapped his order and they settled into a comfortable silence.

From then on the dynamics changed.

Snape moved from being seated in the corner to being opposite her, most of the time they did not talk but sometimes they talked and talked for hours. In particular about new research articles or books they were reading but after a while she began discussing her work and social life.

She found herself looking forward to their coffee evenings, the weight and stress of work lifting off her shoulders as she walked towards the café most evenings.

One evening when she was running late, after a particularly long and boring meeting, she arrived at the café to find Snape sitting there with her order waiting on the table in front of her.

"Thank you" she breathed, throwing herself into her chair.

He merely nodded, it looked like it was one of those evenings where he wasn't in much of a talking mood but it didn't matter. As she took a sip of her tea the heat mingled with the warmth she already felt in her chest at his small gesture.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much everyone for the favs, alerts and reviews of my work, it really helps motivate me to hear what you guys think!

Sitting on her window seat Hermione watched Ginny munch her way through half a pack of Bourbon biscuits.

"You know", Ginny started, resting the packet on biscuits on her swollen stomach "every time I see you lately you've mentioned Professor Snape".

"We spend a lot of time together".

Ginny raised a suggestive eyebrow, "and he is just a friend?"

Sighing she felt her cheeks flush, "yes, he is just a friend".

"But you'd like to be more than friends" she giggled, wiggling her eyebrows.

"No" she exclaimed, "are a man and a woman not allowed to talk without wanting to _be_ together?"

She wasn't ready yet to explore the fact that she was attracted to Snape and found herself looking forward to their meetings more and more.

"Well if there is nothing there then you can go on a date with Theodore!"

"Not this again, I've already said no!"

"Come on! You're gonna be single for the rest of your life if you don't at least try and go on some dates".

"We just aren't compatible"

"How do you know you're not compatible if you don't give him a chance!"

Huffing, she glared at Ginny over her tea; she was like a dog with a bone.

"Just one date and if you don't like him you don't have to go on another. He is handsome…"

"Ok, ok, if it gets you off my back".

"Yessss" she thrust her hand into the air with victory, biscuit in hand.

Several days later Hermione twisted back and forth infront of the mirror, watching the white fabric of her dress flare out around her knees.

"How do I look Crooks?"

A soft meow was all she got as he padded up to her, tentatively sniffing the little heels she wore.

She pulled slightly at the low cut of the top of her dress making sure it showed enough of her cleavage but was still modest.

Glancing one last time in the mirror she debated whether to put more make up on than the natural look she had gone for but decided against it.

She still had an hour to go until her date and decided to go to the Café to calm down, instead of pacing nervously in her flat.

Grabbing a light denim jacket, incase it got chillier later in the summer evening; she quickly started making her way to the café.

Once she arrived she felt the tension leave her body upon seeing Snape. Settling down in her seat she quickly tapped for her tea.

Looking up from the menu she found Snape's eyes running over her outfit, "You look nice today, going somewhere?"

She tried to ignore the blush creeping onto her cheeks at his compliment, even if it was simple, untucking her currently loose curls from behind her ear so they fell across her face.

"I have a date later".

There was a pause and Snape looked back at his book, "Who is the lucky man?"

"Theodore …"

He snorted, "I wouldn't have taken you as the type to go for dashing idiots but then I suppose you spend your time with Potter and Weasley".

Ignoring the dig at Harry and Ron she was surprised at the strong disdain in his voice for Theodore, "Ginny set us up, I haven't personally met him yet".

A sneer slightly curled his lip, "I'm sure the bluggers have knocked whatever little intelligence he had out of his head but that doesn't tend to stop witches from swooning over him".

"I'm not going to swoon over him"

He gave her a knowing look up and down before pointedly turning back to his book.

It was true she had put effort into how she looked today, after seeing him in various gossip magazines and realising he was rather dashing she didn't want to look plain next to him. Anyway why should Snape care how she dressed for anyone?

The hour soon passed, Snape merely gave her a dismissive nod when she said goodbye and made her way over to the Café floo.

She soon found herself in Diagon Alley and made her way to the agreed meeting spot outside the new posh restaurant that had recently opened.

As she drew closer she noticed Theodore, striking a handsome figure in his dark blue robes.

Smiling she made her way up to the tall tanned wizard, "Theodore?"

"Hermione, call me Theo" he grinned, white teeth flashing before he quickly took her hand and kissed it, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you".

He started to lead the way into the restaurant, holding the door open for her as paparazzi suddenly appeared outside, their annoying cameras flashing.

"I am sorry I was not able to meet up with you sooner, I have been rather busy with my move and work", in truth she had been avoiding meeting up with him ever since Ginny suggested match making her with the famous Quidditch player several months ago.

"It's no worries, I've only just gotten back from the international tournaments".

"Oh, how did that go?"

There in lay her first mistake, in her attempt to fringe interest in Quidditch she found herself stuck listening to a rendition of his recent games all the way through appetisers until the mains arrived.

As much as she tried to pay attention to the wizard in front of her, whom as she watched him run his hand through his tussled blonde hair and his blue eyes sparkle at some Quidditch joke he had made, she understood how witches could swoon over him but she just found herself phasing out.

The interruption of their main course provided a welcomed distraction, during which he asked her about her work. However she wasn't sure if this made things worse, as she started to describe her recent research his face became blatantly bored. Awkwardly aware that he wasn't interested in what she was saying she stopped and there was a long pause as they both picked at their food.

"So what do you like to do in your spare time?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Practice Quidditch"

"Anything else?"

"Ah well I usually go out with the team and I have a lot of publicity events to attend, how about you?"

"I like reading and spending time in one of my local cafés".

He laughed lightly, "I don't think I've read anything since I left school, even then I use to avoid it whenever I could!"

She smiled awkwardly; this was not going to work.

The rest of the date passed with a mixture of silences and fumbled conversation. After a short hour and a half she found herself making her excuses, both of them seeming relieved to be able to go their separate ways.

Glancing at her watch she realised there was probably enough time for her to pop back to the café and found herself making her way there. She new Ginny would be dying to know how the date went and could not be dealing with the long Floo conversation she would want to have when she got back.

She was surprised to see that Snape was still sat there at this late hour, brewing over a whiskey instead of a coffee.

Walking over she kicked off her heels and curled up in her chair, resting her head back against the back, "what was I thinking?!"

He simply raised an eyebrow.

"It was awfully awkward, we had nothing in common, all he wanted to talk about was Quidditch and when I mentioned my research I might as well have been speaking in another language".

Lifting his glass he finished the remaining mouthful, "I hate to tell you I told you so but…"

"Oh don't rub it in, it was bad enough having to experience it"

He let out a chuckle, one of the few times she had been graced with hearing him laugh. She found herself intrigued but the little laugh lines that formed at the corners of his eyes, she had never noticed those before.

"I am getting another, would you like one?" he motioned to his glass.

She smiled, "why not".

The rest of the night passed as it usually would with them discussing recent research points but sipping whiskey instead of tea.

At the end of the night he offered to walk her home.

"I've only had a couple of drinks Severus, I am not drunk!"

"I know you aren't but I can't say the same for others out this late at night"

"You don't think I'm capable of protecting myself?"

With a casual flick of his hand her wand zoomed from her pocket to his hand and he smirked at her.

She glared at him, "that wasn't fair, I trust you"

His calloused fingers brushed the palm of her hand, as he gave her back her wand, sending goose bumps up her arm.

"Which is exactly why I should walk you home" he gave her a pointed look, "you trust too easily".

She rolled her eyes, "Ok then bodyguard".

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Miss Granger" he growled.

"Or what?" she cheekily replied, staring at him defiantly.

He did not break her stare.

She felt the heat start to prickle under her skin as a new tension started to bubble between them, his dark eyes looking at her with an intensity which made her short of breath.

Turning away from him she avoided whatever new dimension was developing.

Quickly walking away she made her way outside, Snape easily keeping up behind her with his long gait.

Snape offered her his arm for her to link with and she spent the whole journey home trying not to think about the fact that this was the most they'd probably continuously touched since they'd met.

When they finally arrived at her place she reluctantly removed her arm from his and turned to face him.

"Thank you for walking me home, Severus"; glancing up at her apartment she bit her lip as she debated whether to invite him in.

Looking back at Severus she saw he was looking at her lip. Blushing she released her lip and as his dark gaze rose to meet hers she felt the same tension as before building between them.

"It was my pleasure, Hermione".

Goosebumps rose on her skin at the purr in his voice and she found her eyes trapped in his, like a deer in headlights.

Suddenly he stepped forward, one of his hands tilting her head up as he leaned down and pressed his lips to her.

Shocked she hesitated at first before responding, his hand slid back into her hair, tangling in her mass of curls as she stepped forward, rising up on her tip toes as she leaned against his body and ran her hands up his chest and around his shoulders.

His tongue parted her lips and met with hers sending a shock pulsing down her body to the pool of heat gathering in her lower abdomen. Then just as she was yearning to get closer to him, to feel his skin, he pulled away.

There was a brief pause as she blinked, gazing up at his face with dazed eyes,

"Goodnight, Hermione" he whispered before turning on his heel and walking away down the street, leaving Hermione standing at the base of her apartment steps, cool air encompassing where his warm body had just been, only one clear thought ringing in her mind:

I just kissed Severus Snape!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay, Christmas was a lot busier than I expected. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and that you all have a happy new year! Thank you again for all of your support and feedback!

Blinking against the morning light peeking through her curtains Hermione stretched, a disgruntled yowl rising from Crooks as her foot disturbed him at the end of the bed.

She froze as memories from last night flashed through her mind, Severus's lips on hers, whiskey on their tongues, his hands on her body, the smell of potions ingredients that seemed infused in his skin and which she found oddly comforting.

Her cheeks flushed just thinking about it, warmth spreading through her body.

There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to kiss him again, how were things going to change now?

She pulled the fresh cotton sheets up over her face as if to hide.

"HERMIONE."

Starting she sat up quickly in her bed.

"Hermione, wake up!"

Stumbling out of bed she quickly unhooked her dressing gown from the back of the door and wrapped it around herself, pushing open the door and walking through into the front room.

Staring into the fireplace she looked at Ginny's face in the coals.

"Ah, there you're, I'm coming through" her face briefly disappeared before the heath flashed and Ginny stepped through into her living room, sending the soot she had trodden though back into the coals with a flick of her wand.

"Good morning to you too Ginny."

"What the hell Hermione!" she exclaimed flapping a paper about in front of her face.

"What?!"

She paused, holding the paper still in one hand and pointing at the moving pictures on the front with the other hand "you kissed Professor Snape!"

She felt her stomach drop and she snatched the paper off Ginny, staring at the two moving images on the front page. The first was of her walking up to Theodore outside the restaurant, smiling as he kissed her hand. The second of her passionately kissing Severus and then staring dazed into his eyes after their kiss broke.

It was rather disconcerting watching herself repeatedly kiss Severus over and over in a little loop.

'MISS GRANGER STRIKES AGAIN…

It appears that the plain Miss Granger's promiscuity and hunger for famous wizards is insatiable! With the trail of broken hearts behind her including Harry Potter, Viktor Krum and Ron Weasley it now appears she is sinking her claws into both the legendary Theodore AshBloom and war hero Severus Snape!'

Throwing the paper onto the table Hermione huffed as she then threw herself into one of her chairs, "The evil witch, she never did like me!"

"Forget Rita, since when did you like Snape Hermione?! Snape!" Ginny stared at her with wide eyes from the seat opposite her, leaning forward.

"I don't know, a while I guess."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I don't know, I suppose I wasn't even sure myself but look at how you've reacted, the papers and I never thought he liked me back!"

"Hermione I'm just shocked, I was waiting to ask you how your date with Theodore went and I turn over the paper to see you snogging our old Professor, I nearly spat my cereal out in shock!"

"Well having it all over the paper wasn't exactly what I was expecting either."

"I wish you'd just said you thought you liked him, I wouldn't have pushed for you to date Theodore!"

"You don't think it's weird?"

"I think it's weird alright but that's because I can't see Professor Snape in a sexual light at all."

Hermione snorted, "I suppose that's a good thing."

Picking up the paper Hermione groaned as she read out some lines from the article:

'No news yet on how our handsome Theodore will deal with this betrayal!'

'Will Severus Snape be able to cope with yet another blow to the heart!'

"I can't believe Rita still has it in for me!"

"You haven't read my favourite line yet" sliding the paper back across the table Ginny cleared her throat and did her best Rita Skeeter impression "Wizards need to be warned of the wicked wanton ways of Miss Granger!"

They both started laughing.

"Ignore this rubbish Hermione, she has nothing better to do with her life and people will soon forget about this once the next dramatic story is released."

"It's certainly going to be interesting in the office Monday" she grimaced.

"Lets not think about that now, tell me more about Snape, I need the details, how did this happen, how long have you been talking, what is he like, is he always in Professor mode?"

"Let me just get us some tea."

As Hermione made the tea and came back to sit on the sofa, Crooks curling up on her lap and purring happily, she explained everything since her first encounter with Snape in the café.

"I can see it now" lounging on her sofa nibbling more biscuits Ginny looked at her "you and Snape, you've got a lot in common, although it might take me some time to get use to the idea of him as being more than just the scary potions teacher."

"There really is a lot more to him Ginny" she blushed "but what am I going to do now, what if it's awkward, what if he regrets the kiss?"

"He kissed you silly, you're going to go to the café as normal and just see what happens, he'd be an idiot to regret kissing you."

….

Several hours later Hermione found herself walking the familiar route to the coffee shop, butterflies swarming in her stomach. She'd found herself delaying trying to leave, finding random things to clean around her flat, rambling her worries to Crooks.

Just as she was about to walk out of the door she paused, looking in the mirror and sweeping her hair up into a bun, which her wild curls refused to stay in, so with a huff she let her curls cascade back down in a riot around her face.

Stop being an idiot, she told herself and forced herself to walk out of the door before she could find anything else to distract or worry herself over.

Walking into the café she felt her heart racing even faster, calming her breathing she turned into their usual section of the café and looked over towards their seats.

Empty.

Severus wasn't there.

Sighing she felt both immediate relief about not having to face the situation straight away and apprehension about him not being there.

She curled up in her usual chair and ordered both of them their usual drink, placing a stasis charm on his drink to keep it warm until he arrived.

Taking out the book she was currently reading she tried to concentrate, hating how her eyes kept wandering over to the entrance, hoping to see him turning the corner and walking towards her.

Forcing herself to stop looking she read a few more chapters. After a couple of hours her stomach started to feel heavy as dread settled in. He'd usually be here by now; staring at his drink still sitting full on the table across from her she tapped her fingers anxiously on her book. This can't just be a coincidence, was he avoiding her?

Looking back over towards the door she noticed a wizard staring at her and then quickly turning away to whisper something to the witch besides him. The witch craned around the wizard to look at Hermione and then snapped back when she realised Hermione was watching. They both started giggling. Glancing at the table infront on them she saw a copy of this mornings newspaper.

Great. She was no stranger to people staring at her, whispering, saying horrible things and judging her but the fact it was happening here, in her oasis where she felt she could escape from the world and relax, was upsetting.

And Severus still hadn't turned up.

Her face felt hot as she gathered her things and walked out of the café. She pressed her lips together hard in annoyance as she felt her eyes start to sting. Stop being stupid she reprimanded herself, you're just overthinking, there is probably a reason why he didn't turn up, it's just bad timing and like Ginny said everyone will forget about this sooner or later.

….

But over the next few days Severus still didn't turn up and as each day passed, Hermione sitting in her usual seat alone, she found her upset turning into anger.

Why was he avoiding her? She never imagined that he would be such a coward, how could he ignite all those feelings inside her with that kiss and then drop her with no explanation? Why did she care so much, why was she letting him get under her skin?!

Enough was enough, she needed answers.

Storming down the corridors at work Hermione ignored the sly and not so sly glances in her direction from her fellow colleagues. The other day one of these said colleagues had directly come up to her and asked if she was 'shagging the old bat' and she'd had to refrain from blasting said idiot down the corridor.

Her patience had run out. Knocking on the dark wooden door of Snape's office she pushed it open before anyone within could reply. Thundering into his office she slammed the door shut behind her, blocking out the people who were now openly staring and whispering at her actions.

"Good morning Miss Granger" Severus said calmly, not pausing in his writing or looking up from his desk.

"Where have you been?"

He looked up at her now and raised an eyebrow, "In my office."

She snorted, "don't act smart with me, you know I mean the café, why have you not been going anymore."

"I've been busy."

"You've been busy before and that's never stopped you"

"It may surprise you Miss Granger but you're not the only one who does important work at the ministry."

She was suddenly unsure if he had genuinely been busy and realised how desperate she must sound if so but his attitude was grating on her and she couldn't resist pressing on "Are you sure it has nothing to do with the other night?"

There was a pause.

"The other night was a mistake Miss Granger."

She felt like a train had hit her. She had suspected that he might be regretting things from his avoidance but to actually hear it from his mouth made her stomach drop. And he was back to using her last name.

"A mistake…?"

"Yes and best put behind us."

"Why?" her voice came out a lot weaker than she wanted.

He shifted the papers around on his desk, standing up and starting to pace around the room "As much as I enjoy your company it would not be wise. I am far older than you and I don't have the best reputation."

Hope swelled in her chest, "but I don't care about those things, I enjoy your company and I enjoyed the other night" she blurted out, cheeks reddening.

"What do you think it would do to your reputation, one of the golden trio dating a death eater?"

She snorted "have you read the papers? They seem to be more concerned about me corrupting the poor war hero not the other way around."

"That's just Rita Skeeter, not everyone thinks like her, I'm not good for you."

"I don't care what they think and you don't get to decide for me if you're good enough for me."

Stopping in his pacing he turned to look at her "stubborn witch."

"You can talk" he wasn't going to change his mind if they kept talking like this.

Feeling a rush of confidence Hermione stepped forward, a challenge flashing in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. They stumbled back clumsily as her body pressed along his until they hit the desk behind him.

His hands came up and wrapped around her arms and for a moment she thought he was going to push her away but instead he pulled her further into him, spinning her around so it was her behind pressed into the desk.

Their lips moved over each other's hungrily, his hands slid down her body grabbing onto her bum and lifting her up onto the desk. She wrapped her legs around his waist feeling the heat of his body settle against her.

His deft fingers worked the buttons down the front of her robes, popping them open effortlessly and his fingers, rough from years of potions making, spread over her smooth skin. Sparks of heat flying from the points of his touch to pool in-between her legs where she could feel his equal arousal pressing against her.

A small moan passed her lips as his fingers found her nipple, rolling it lightly between his fingers. Her hands grabbed his behind, surprisingly firm and pulled his hips towards her, shamelessly grinding herself against him.

A sharp knock on the door made them both jump apart, his dark eyes burning with intensity as they raked over her body.

Her cheeks already flushed red turned a deep crimson as she imagined what she must looks like, sitting on the desk, legs spread, robes crumpled and opened at the front, breasts clear on display and heaving with her heavy breathing. Lips swollen from being kissed, wild hair and eyes dazed with desire.

With a low growl of annoyance Severus flicked his wand at both of them, their robes quickly redoing and rearranging themselves.

Patting her hair down Hermione jumped off the desk, desperately trying to calm her breathing and willing her cheeks to cool back to their normal white.

Severus stormed over to the door, pausing briefly with his hand on the doorknob.

"Coffee later?"

She couldn't control the grin that sprung to her face, "I'll see you there."

Severus's lips briefly curled into what could be considered a smile before his features settled back into the intimidating professor she remembered from her school days as he swung open his office door.

"What do you want now, Mr. Fransworth, you have interrupted my meeting?" he snarled.

She heard nervous sputtering from the other side of the door.

"Thank you for your advice Mr. Snape" she said, swiftly squeezing past the short and sweaty Mr. Fransworth, who stared at her with wide eyes.

"It was my pleasure Miss. Granger."

Ignoring her fellow colleagues, some of whom were subtly peering over piles of paperwork but the majority blatantly staring. She walked off down the corridor, both trying not to look as flustered as she felt and trying not to grin manically.

She couldn't believe that had just happened.


End file.
